Ten stocks stood firmer on Thursday, defying a lackluster performance in the broader market, thanks to strong earnings and outlook, and corporate partnerships, among others.
Meanwhile, only the S&P 500 finished in the green, albeit inching up by a mere 0.03 percent. The Dow Jones slipped by 0.02 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped by 0.01 percent.
In this article, we focus on the 10 top performers on Thursday and break down the reasons behind their gains.
To compile the list, we focused exclusively on stocks with $2 billion in market capitalization and at least 5 million shares in trading volume.
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10. IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN)
IREN Ltd. snapped a four-day losing streak on Thursday, jumping 7.61 percent to close at $19.08 as investors began repositioning portfolios ahead of the release of its earnings performance for the full fiscal period of 2025.
According to the company, it is scheduled to report its financial and operating highlights after market close on August 28, a Thursday, alongside an investor call to elaborate on the results.
Investors will be closely watching out for the company’s outlook for fiscal year 2026, having achieved its operating hash rate target of 50 EH/s, which is expected to help bolster revenues from Bitcoin mining moving forward.
According to the company, a 50 EH/s hash rate could generate $830 million in annualized hardware profit.
Further supporting sentiment, IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) announced last week that it was able to generate $83.6 million in revenues from 728 Bitcoins mined in July, or 27.6 percent higher than the $65.5 million in revenues from 620 Bitcoins mined in June.
Average Bitcoin prices in July were also 8.66 percent higher at $114,891 versus the $105,730 the month before.
9. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST)
LifeStance Health extended its winning streak to a 5th straight day on Thursday, adding another 7.93 percent to close at $5.58 apiece, on strong investor confidence supported by an impressive earnings performance.
In its updated report on Wednesday, LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) said it narrowed its net loss by 84 percent to $3.8 million from $23.3 million in the same period last year. Revenues increased by 11 percent to $345.3 million from $312.3 million year-on-year on the back of a higher visit volume supported by an 11-percent net clinician growth.
Clinician base ended at 7,708 during the period, an increase of 173 from the first quarter of the year.
“I am incredibly proud of the LifeStance team for the strong results achieved in the second quarter,” said LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) CEO Dave Bourdon, underscoring the double-digit organic revenue growth and 10 percent adjusted EBITDA margin.
Following the strong performance, LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) reaffirmed its full-year revenue growth target of $1.4 billion to $1.44 billion, as well as adjusted EBITDA to $140 million to $150 million.
8. Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR)
Cipher Mining rallied for a second day on Thursday, adding 8.57 percent to close at $5.32 as investors continued to take path from investment firms’ bullish ratings and higher price targets for the company.
For its part, Macquarie raised its price target to $8 from $6 previously, marking a 50.4 percent upside potential from its latest closing price. It also assigned an “overweight” rating for the stock.
Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods Inc. gave Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) a new price target of $8, albeit a reduction from the $10 previously, but it remained markedly higher than its closing price on Thursday.
Other firms, Needham and Rosenblatt, also posted a bullish stance, giving a “buy” recommendation, with price targets of $8 and $7, respectively. Rosenblatt’s price target represented a 31.6-percent upside potential from the firm’s latest closing price.
In the second quarter of the year, Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) saw revenues from Bitcoin mining increase by 18.2 percent to $43.56 million from $36.8 million in the same period last year. However, net loss nearly tripled to $45.78 million from $15.29 million, dragged by a 67.6-percent increase in total costs and operating expenses.
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